


Father

by FanaticFangirl2602



Category: Trollhunters (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, But BOY is everything a WRECK, Cuz my heart can't handle too much angst, Gen, It's not SUPER angsty, Neither was I, One Shot, Other, Strickler was not ready for this, The only good thing that happens is Barbara doesn't cook dinner, i think, kind of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-24
Updated: 2018-01-24
Packaged: 2019-03-09 00:18:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,565
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13469691
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FanaticFangirl2602/pseuds/FanaticFangirl2602
Summary: I know what you’re capable of. I know what you’re not capable of. I know you have a thing for Claire, and I know you’d do anything for Toby. You want to keep your mother out of this and you look to Blinky as your surrogate father.Strickler was wrong about something.





	Father

**Author's Note:**

> This was inspired by a _lovely_ post made by [Queeniecatart](http://queeniecatart.tumblr.com) on Tumblr. You can find the post [here](http://queeniecatart.tumblr.com/post/169126833211/hey-you-know-what-im-thinking-about-when) and then you can come read this and cry.
> 
> If you catch any tense inconsistencies, let me know! I don't normally write in present tense, so this was a fun challenge. And let me know if you think Strickler is in character! This is my first time writing him, so it was a bit of an experiment.
> 
> With that all said, happy reading!

It’s been quite the evening. Dining with the Lakes had been going well. He’d gotten under the young Trollhunter’s skin, they’d had a nice chat. It’d been firmly established they knew one another’s secrets and alignments. Barbara didn’t suspect a thing, and - quite honestly - he enjoyed the woman’s company. It was unfortunate he was only there for the Amulet.

Of course, she is no longer in the room now. She’s gone to work on desert. It’s the perfect opportunity for him to… settle his differences with Jim, let’s say.

Strickler had struck a nerve during his little speech, as predicted. _I know what you’re capable of. I know what you’re not capable of. I know you have a thing for Claire, and I know you’d do anything for Toby. You want to keep your mother out of this and you look to Blinky as your surrogate father._ He hadn’t missed the scowl on the boy’s face, or the tensing of his shoulders. And when Jim’s back up hadn’t come through, well, that’d made things even better.

“This war is millenia older than you, boy,” Strickler now hisses. He plucks a blade from his collar and twirls it in his fingers. “You can’t stand against the tide of history. Gunmar is inevitable.” He throws the blade. Jim grunts and stumbles back as he blocks the attack from the changeling, sending the weapon flying into the wall to their left. He’s slowly getting cornered. Soon, Strickler will be able to take the Amulet.

Perhaps that is why Strickler keeps talking. Perhaps how close victory is is what makes him warn the boy away. “If you care about your mother, don’t fight it.” He stalks forward, eyes narrowed at the young human. “You were always my favorite. Don’t you see?” His face twists into something like a glower. It isn’t a lie. Jim has always been his favorite in class. If the boy wasn’t the Trollhunter... “I’m only trying to protect you!”

He sends more blades flying. Dagger after dagger fly towards Jim, and dagger after dagger Jim clumsily blocks. Until the final one. The last one that flies from Strickler’s fingertips is not only deflected, but sent _back at him._

The changeling sidesteps and watches with wide, surprised eyes as the metal blade sinks into the wall behind him. He turns back towards Jim and takes in the glare the boy is giving him. The young teen’s eyes resemble the flame that dances across his sword, fiery and bright, and shining with… something.

“I can take care of myself,” Jim growls.

So this is how it’s going to be.

Strickler raises both hands, taking several more blades out of his collar. Holding them between his fingers, he faces the Trollhunter. A second passes between them. Then Strickler is attacking. He lunges towards Jim and swipes his knives through the air. Nothing comes into contact, because Jim is already tucking into a roll, dodging the strike.

“You’re wrong, you know,” he grunts as he gets to his feet, swinging his sword towards Strickler.

The changeling side steps. A smug smirk appears on his face at the sudden statement. “Oh, really?”

Another swipe.

“What am I wrong about, _Young Atlas?_ ” Strickler sneers.

He throws a knife.

A grunt. “Blinky.” Jim sends the blade back at him with his sword. “He wasn’t my surrogate father.”

Another grunt.

Another attack.

Then two words Strickler doesn’t expect to hear.

_“You were.”_

The two, simple words are full of raw emotion. Anger, hurt, grief. They swim together in Jim’s gruff voice until one can’t tell them apart, packing the small sentence with unexpected power.

It makes Strickler falter. His knives miss their mark, but not because Jim had dodged. The changeling’s weapon had gone wide, veering to the left, because his aim had been thrown off at the last second by _that._

It only takes a moment for him to recover. He makes up for the miss by knocking back the charging Trollhunter. The tall changeling uses the momentum to spin both of them around and throws the boy back against the side of the stairs now in front of them them.

Jim hits the wood railing with an audible _thud!_ and falls to the ground with a groan. The only reason Barbara doesn’t hear the commotion is because the sound of pots falling out of a cabinet covers it. It is only this one time Strickler will be thankful for the woman’s inept ability in the kitchen.

Strickler quickly draws another blade as Jim quickly gets back on his feet. He holds the wide sword in front of him defensively as Strickler draws his arm back, about to throw-

And then he sees it.

He sees the kid’s lips pressed so tightly together they’re a white line. He sees Jim’s glossy yet hard blue eyes… and the silent tears cascading down his face.

Strickler freezes.

They stare at each other, each waiting for the other person to make a move, but neither of them do. Strickler’s fingers are tense, tightly holding onto his blade. He should throw it. He knows he should. Jim is vulnerable, emotionally compromised. It’d be easy to gain the upper hand and enact the plan, snatching the Amulet of Daylight and leaving behind the fake. Barbara still hasn’t come out. It’s the perfect moment.

But he doesn’t throw.

Because before him, he doesn’t see the Trollhunter, slayer of gumm-gumms. He sees a child, the same child whom he’d been worried about weeks earlier, when he’d been falling asleep in class. The same child whom he’d given, of all things, relationship advice to.

Even as he slowly, warily lowers his arm, part of his mind screams for him to take advantage of the moment they’re locked in. But another part says this is Jim.

Jim must sense they’ve come to a standstill, because he carefully lowers his sword, the same caution Strickler is feeling visible in the movement. He doesn’t make a noise. If one hadn’t been looking at him, they wouldn’t have known the boy was crying.

His eyes are still watery, Strickler sees, and full of warring emotions, too many for the changeling to pick out. But he sees the hurt. The betrayal.

He holds back a weary sigh as he shifts back to his human form. The knife in his hand disappears. Across from him, Jim’s armor vanishes. The Amulet appears in the boy’s hand. Strickler doesn’t miss the way Jim’s knuckles turn white as he grips it.

They’ve come to a silent understanding. This battle will not be carried out anymore tonight. Another night… perhaps.

Strickler doesn’t know anymore.

The two had changed back just in time, for a second later, the door to the kitchen starts to open. Jim hurriedly wipes a sleeved arm across his face, getting rid of the tears, as Barbara returns. “Who is ready for pie? Viola!” She says cheerfully, presenting said desert and the mountain of whipped cream it bears to them.

Almost immediately, she can tell something is wrong. Her smile turns into a worried frown. “Is… everything alright?” She asks, eyes flicking between the two men before her.

Jim shoves the Amulet into his jacket’s pocket. “Fine,” he answers quickly, voice solemn and thick. He coughs quietly into his fist and clears his throat before speaking again. “Everything is...fine,” he repeats and puts on a small smile, but it’s fake and Strickler knows Barbara can see through it, if the way she slowly steps forward is anything to go off of.

She glances at Strickler, thin brows furrowed in question. _What’s going on?_ She’s silently asking. But he can’t tell her.

She looks back at her son and starts to speak. “Jim-”

“Really,” he interrupts before she can get another word out and puts his hands up in a placating gesture. “We’re good.” It’s a lie. “But I’m feeling kind of stuffed, so I think I’m going to opt out for the night, get some fresh air.”

Before his mother can do anything, he turns to face Strickler. That smile is still there, attempting to mask the turmoil that has to be happening within the boy. “Mister Strickler, it was…” He hesitates. His smile tightens a little. “... a pleasure having you here.” Another lie. “I’ll see you at school.”

And then Jim’s gone, shutting the front door softly behind him.

Strickler stares at the door. Of all the ways he’d expected this night to go… this was not one of them. And what Jim had said, it’s thrown him more than he’d like to admit.

His attention is drawn towards Barbara when she comes to stand next to him. She still has a deep frown on her lips, but now there’s a protective shine in her eyes he sees when she looks at him. “Alright, what happened?” She asks him, voice firm in a way that let him know he’d better give an answer.

His gaze drifts back towards the door. “Honestly?”

He’d set up dinner with the Lakes for a reason. He was to take the Amulet, replace it with a fake, and leave the Trollhunter none the wiser. But that hadn’t happened.

Jim’s words ring in his head. _Blinky - he wasn’t my surrogate father. You were!_

He sighs. Oh, how the tables turn. “I’m not sure,” he answers her.

_I’m not sure at all._

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you all enjoyed this one shot I don't plan on continuing! *Evil laughter* If you want to scream at me, you can find me on Tumblr as [FanaticFangirl2602!](https://fanaticfangirl2602.tumblr.com)


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